Friday, January 4, 2019

Oyster Bay
Oyster Bay is an inlet in southern Puget Sound which branches off from
Totten Inlet. The bay spans Mason and Thurston counties, in the U.S.
state of Washington. Kennedy Creek empties into the bay at the U.S.
Highway 101 overpass. Oyster Bay was named for the oyster industry it
supports. The bay is the site of one of only four oyster reserves in
Puget Sound where the Olympia oyster grows. Oyster Bay is one of the
most productive chum salmon runs in the state with over 40,000 spawners a
year, estimated to be two-thirds of the run that would exist without
human impacts.(Wikipedia)

State taking comment on permits for Atlantic salmon fish farms
The state Department of Ecology is taking comment now on permits for
four Cooke Aquaculture Atlantic salmon farms — three in Kitsap County
and one in Skagit Bay. Farming Atlantic salmon in net pens is officially
banned from Puget Sound starting in 2022. Ecology is using the
investigation from the 2017 Cypress Island net pen collapse to mandate
more protective permit requirements. Cooke Aquaculture, the only company
farming Atlantic salmon in Washington state, lost its lease in Port
Angeles in 2017. Ecology is accepting comments on the permit through
Feb. 25 and will make a final determination after reviewing them.
Information on the draft permit, and a link to comment online, is
available here. (Peninsula Daily News)

The Stories Whale Lice Tell
Having lice is one of life’s lower moments. It causes much wailing,
rending of garments, purchasing of funny little combs, and a crushing
feeling of ickiness. But lice are common in the animal kingdom,
afflicting everything from a teensy mouse to one of Earth’s most
majestic creatures, the humpback whale. And according to a new paper,
those lice may offer a peek into the whale’s world-spanning social
networks. Seven breeding populations of humpback whale summer in
Antarctic waters. In winter, they migrate north into different parts of
the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. How, and even if, these
populations interact, especially during their annual migrations, has
been a scientific mystery. But the study’s lead author Tammy Iwasa-Arai,
a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, has unearthed some clues. She focused on lice, common whale
parasites, betting that they would offer more insight into the whales’
social contacts than satellite tags or other tracking methods. Amorina
Kingdon reports. (Hakai Magazine)

There seem to be more coyotes roaming Seattle streets
Two years ago in Laurelhurst, an upscale Seattle neighborhood, five
coyotes played in the grass near a bus stop. There was the mom coyote,
the dad coyote and three pups....
But then they were gone.... Wildlife Services, a federal agency,
confirmed they had killed three of the coyotes in a three-night
stake-out. Someone had called the agency, they said in a statement,
saying the coyotes had ventured too close to humans and neighborhood
cats and dogs.... Two years later, there are more coyote sightings than
ever in Seattle, including in Laurelhurst where this coyote family group
was killed. Isolde Raftery reports. (KUOW)

The last word from Joan Carson, 'Bird Lady' for 50 years
This is a difficult column to write. Traditionally, one’s retirement is a
reason to celebrate. I don’t really feel like celebrating, but maybe
that will come, little by little. This will be my last column concerning
birds and birdwatchers. After 50 years (Dec. 6, 1967), I have decided
to meet my last weekly deadline. That is a reason for celebration,
especially when I am traveling. Writing several columns to cover the
time I am away from the desk won’t be missed. (Kitsap Sun)

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